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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12245733p-13109630c.html
Kings cut the deficit
And how: They trail by seven points with under one minute left but rally to beat the woeful Knicks.
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, February 5, 2005
It's one thing to erase a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, and it's another to wipe out a seven-point bulge with 48.1 seconds left, but the Kings did both - then defeated the struggling New York Knicks 116-115 Friday night in one of the most surprising games ever played at Arco Arena.
The Kings didn't even require the talents of injured starters Peja Stojakovic (back), Chris Webber (knee) or Cuttino Mobley (back), each of whom watched the action from the bench. Webber and Mobley said they would play tonight in Portland, Ore., where the Kings meet the Trail Blazers, and Stojakovic said he would travel with the team and planned to see how he felt at game time.
In the interim, Kings coach Rick Adelman received one more set of prime-time performances from Matt Barnes, Maurice Evans and Kevin Martin. Their play, combined down the stretch with the all-night heroics of Mike Bibby (career-high 40 points) and Brad Miller (35 points, nine rebounds), did the trick.
"I just have to give those in the locker room all the credit in the world," said Adelman, who certainly went out of the box by taking the 6-foot-9 Michael Bradley off the floor during the game's final 4:30 and substituting Martin.
Adelman then stayed with a 2-3 zone in an attempt to slow Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury, who was in the process of scoring a season-high-tying 37 points and shooting 15 of 19 from the field.
"We have been talking about this since Webber, Peja and Cuttino went down," Adelman said. "You just keep trusting each other, and no matter what happens, you keep competing, and you keep playing together. If you are there at the end, good things can happen to you."
And despite the Knicks shooting a season-and Kings-opponent-high 61.5 percent (48 of 78) from the field and holding a 46-36 rebounding advantage, Adelman's squad was at least in the vicinity of "there."
That was trailing 114-108 with 48.1 seconds left after Bibby missed the second of two free-throw attempts. But Barnes (16 points, eight rebounds, four steals) grabbed the rebound and passed back to Bibby, who missed a foul-line jumper that was tapped in by Martin to pull the Kings within 114-110 with 43.7 seconds remaining.
Evans was then whistled for a foul on Jamal Crawford with 40 seconds left. It wasn't a foul either Evans or Adelman wanted, but remember: This was the case of the Knicks, now losers of 15 of their last 17 games and four straight, playing the Kings in Sacramento. The Knicks were in the process of missing 14 of 28 free throws on the night and 10 of 16 during the fourth quarter.
Crawford missed the first foul shot, then made the second to put New York ahead 115-110, and the Kings called timeout.
Adelman set up a play for Bibby to take a pass from Miller for a three-pointer, but Barnes, who was inbounding the ball from the right sideline, recognized the Knicks' defensive coverage. He led the point guard perfectly across the court with an arching pass that Bibby caught. Bibby looked down to make sure he wasn't out of bounds, then launched a 24-footer that made the score 115-113 with 37.6 seconds left.
On the ensuing inbound play, Miller and Martin trapped New York's Penny Hardaway underneath the Knicks' basket. Hardaway said he was fouled, the referees didn't, and Martin tipped away his pass. Barnes retrieved the loose ball and fed Miller underneath the basket for a game-tying layup with 31.2 seconds left.
Miller was fouled but missed the free-throw attempt to leave the Kings tied at 115. Interim Knicks coach Herb Williams called timeout, and Hardaway missed a three-pointer that was rebounded by Evans with 10 seconds left. Adelman called timeout, and Hardaway then was called for a foul on Barnes, who had taken a pass from Miller.
With 6.8 seconds left, Barnes missed the first foul shot and made the second for a 116-115 Kings lead. To complete Hardaway's minute from hell, he took a pass from Marbury, then lost the ball when he was crowded by Barnes, whose steal sealed the victory.
Kings cut the deficit
And how: They trail by seven points with under one minute left but rally to beat the woeful Knicks.
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, February 5, 2005
It's one thing to erase a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, and it's another to wipe out a seven-point bulge with 48.1 seconds left, but the Kings did both - then defeated the struggling New York Knicks 116-115 Friday night in one of the most surprising games ever played at Arco Arena.
The Kings didn't even require the talents of injured starters Peja Stojakovic (back), Chris Webber (knee) or Cuttino Mobley (back), each of whom watched the action from the bench. Webber and Mobley said they would play tonight in Portland, Ore., where the Kings meet the Trail Blazers, and Stojakovic said he would travel with the team and planned to see how he felt at game time.
In the interim, Kings coach Rick Adelman received one more set of prime-time performances from Matt Barnes, Maurice Evans and Kevin Martin. Their play, combined down the stretch with the all-night heroics of Mike Bibby (career-high 40 points) and Brad Miller (35 points, nine rebounds), did the trick.
"I just have to give those in the locker room all the credit in the world," said Adelman, who certainly went out of the box by taking the 6-foot-9 Michael Bradley off the floor during the game's final 4:30 and substituting Martin.
Adelman then stayed with a 2-3 zone in an attempt to slow Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury, who was in the process of scoring a season-high-tying 37 points and shooting 15 of 19 from the field.
"We have been talking about this since Webber, Peja and Cuttino went down," Adelman said. "You just keep trusting each other, and no matter what happens, you keep competing, and you keep playing together. If you are there at the end, good things can happen to you."
And despite the Knicks shooting a season-and Kings-opponent-high 61.5 percent (48 of 78) from the field and holding a 46-36 rebounding advantage, Adelman's squad was at least in the vicinity of "there."
That was trailing 114-108 with 48.1 seconds left after Bibby missed the second of two free-throw attempts. But Barnes (16 points, eight rebounds, four steals) grabbed the rebound and passed back to Bibby, who missed a foul-line jumper that was tapped in by Martin to pull the Kings within 114-110 with 43.7 seconds remaining.
Evans was then whistled for a foul on Jamal Crawford with 40 seconds left. It wasn't a foul either Evans or Adelman wanted, but remember: This was the case of the Knicks, now losers of 15 of their last 17 games and four straight, playing the Kings in Sacramento. The Knicks were in the process of missing 14 of 28 free throws on the night and 10 of 16 during the fourth quarter.
Crawford missed the first foul shot, then made the second to put New York ahead 115-110, and the Kings called timeout.
Adelman set up a play for Bibby to take a pass from Miller for a three-pointer, but Barnes, who was inbounding the ball from the right sideline, recognized the Knicks' defensive coverage. He led the point guard perfectly across the court with an arching pass that Bibby caught. Bibby looked down to make sure he wasn't out of bounds, then launched a 24-footer that made the score 115-113 with 37.6 seconds left.
On the ensuing inbound play, Miller and Martin trapped New York's Penny Hardaway underneath the Knicks' basket. Hardaway said he was fouled, the referees didn't, and Martin tipped away his pass. Barnes retrieved the loose ball and fed Miller underneath the basket for a game-tying layup with 31.2 seconds left.
Miller was fouled but missed the free-throw attempt to leave the Kings tied at 115. Interim Knicks coach Herb Williams called timeout, and Hardaway missed a three-pointer that was rebounded by Evans with 10 seconds left. Adelman called timeout, and Hardaway then was called for a foul on Barnes, who had taken a pass from Miller.
With 6.8 seconds left, Barnes missed the first foul shot and made the second for a 116-115 Kings lead. To complete Hardaway's minute from hell, he took a pass from Marbury, then lost the ball when he was crowded by Barnes, whose steal sealed the victory.
